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PeG@SuS
Urang Sunda Asli
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You said we can thank the literature for everything we are and have been.
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If the books disappear, history disappears, and so does man.
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You are probably right. The books do not just contain our dreams and memories.
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They give us insight into our own consciousness.
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Some see reading as a kind of escape from reality-
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-to the fictional world of the book.
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Books are more than that. They make us more human.
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Henry Wessells of James Cummins. We're at the New York Book Fair.
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Here you switch between pure boredom and fantastic discoveries.
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I have a Ph.D. in Spanish lyric poetry from the 15th century.
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After 15 years at university, I became an antiquarian bookseller.
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So I have had some amazing books in my hands.
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We also had JP Morgan's copy, which he bought in 1897.
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He also bought a first edition of the very first book that was printed:
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Gutenberg's Bible. For 2,750 pounds. SECRET
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Printed on velvet. It is now worth $ 40 million.
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Just before the fair, we received a Hemingway archive
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-which contained a Castro doll, which was a bit surprising.
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It's been pretty good. A little less to take home.
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I trade in big books, so it's great to sell some of them.
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I put it on the shelf again.
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One third of what I sell is "esoterica", ie cult material.
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Demon teaching, witchcraft, fetishism, subculture and counterculture.
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The more embarrassingly something touches others, the more it appeals to me.
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New York is the world's best book fair, mostly because of its location.
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Right in the middle of the Upper East Side in a beautiful historic building.
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A building that is a bit "overripe".
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The building has been here since the Civil War-
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-but in the early 1900s, this hall was full of tennis courts.
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I played tennis here as a youngster.
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I brought along this year. When they ask if I want to take a closer look at something-
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- I say no. "I can not afford a book for $ 85,000."
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Someone showed me a book anyway. She asked if I wanted to see it.
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So she showed it to me.
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I barely dared touch it. I will not end up in an O. Henry short story.
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"Now I have to pay you back for the rest of my life."
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People's nonchalant attitude surprised me.
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A guy put a drink on a book. At my house he had been dead!
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There are collectors and then there are people who wonder what they are doing.
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A collector is a sick, obsessed and manic person-
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-who would sell his grandmother to buy something one likes.
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It's a pure fantasy experience, and unlike going to the library-
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- everything is for sale!
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The task of antique bookstores is to inculcate novice
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-how amazing the book is as a collector's item.
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Good bookstores can maintain their customer relationship for up to 30 years.
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In other words, those who trade in rare books have
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-the ability to appreciate these books.
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I was with a friend who is a wonderful Spanish writer.
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He almost cried when I showed him a fourth edition of "Don Quixote" -
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-printed in Brussels in 1611, while Cervantes was still alive.
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But that was not where he cried. He cried when he saw the price: 120,000.
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He cried when he saw a first edition of Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" -
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-for $ 130,000. It can make anyone cry.
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The clock in the exhibition hall has stopped at an impossible time.
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That time does not exist. Just like in a casino
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- people should not think about what time it is.
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It can feel like being on your way to populate a distant galaxy.
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With a slightly strange genetic selection.
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"People have put fortunes under control, traveled half the Earth around-
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- lied, cheated and stolen, all for a book. "ASW Rosenbach
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Collecting books was a refined thing. It was the hobby of the English nobility.
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The typical book collector was an elderly man in a tweed jacket.
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-And a pipe. -Yes. And a glass of sherry.
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And they apparently always went in tweed.
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When people think of antique bookstores, they assume
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-film, television and pop literature.
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-I was just ... -The arcade is opposite.
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Here we only sell small, square objects called books.
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-Are you here? That went fast. - They have a fortune in there.
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- You're a vulture! -It's all in our industry.
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- Sorry for the mess. -Are you an author?
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-Bookseller. -Javel.
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Do you have a "Ben-Hur" from 1863 with a double sentence on page 116?
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It's for Miss Hanff.
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It would be fun to ask people-
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-how they imagine an antiquarian bookstore.
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They will not imagine a model. Rather an older person.
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Everyone has their own opinion, but it is usually romanticized.
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And at an antique book fair, you see people who fit into that template.
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The most important bookstore of the 20th century-
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-was undoubtedly ASW Rosenbach.
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He reigned supreme until the 1950s.
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It is from the classic Rosenbach biography
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-by Edwin Wolf II and John Fleming.
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"Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach had plump, pink cheeks.
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a twinkle in his eye and he walked like a penguin would walk-
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-if a penguin could walk like Rosy. "
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"He was constantly puffing on a pipe, drinking a bottle of whiskey a day-
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and was the world's leading antiquarian bookstore. "
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"He even admitted it himself."
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"'The doctor', as he was called by friends and staff-
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-bought for decades the most important books-
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-which was auctioned off in England and the United States. "
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Leona Rostenberg and Madeleine Stern started in the industry 1945-
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-and they had an incredibly long career of over 60 years.
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It was unusual with women in the industry.
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Most antiquarian booksellers were men.
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They became known for selling fantastic books to libraries.
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-and for their travels to Europe, where they found books-
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-which no one thought existed.
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They discovered that Louisa May Alcott also wrote colored literature.
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Often books filled with sex and violence.
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They found the pseudonyms and the books-
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-and managed to gather the pieces about the author's life.
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Nothing yet. Ross Tuckman and Mike Welosky said no.
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-Jimmy Robinson could not. -Fine.
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- Have you heard anything from Dan? -No. I think a little.
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I have a film crew here.
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At your home? Why?
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A friend makes a documentary about bookstores, and I'm.
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I know lots of better bookstores. They also look better.
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How did you end up in the book business?
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I guess I'm not good at anything else.
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I was considering my future and there was a bookstore in Queens-
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-where I often came. I bought these books there.
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Four volumes of Lewis and Clark's diaries, the Coues edition.
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It cost $ 75. More than I had ever spent on a book.
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I saved together and bought them. He needed a part-time
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-and suddenly I was in the book business.
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It's a 1907 photo album, "The Search for Mammoth".
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An expedition found a frozen mammoth, which they dug up.
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But what makes the album so special-
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-that they inserted some samples of real mammoth hair at the back of the book.
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It's real mammoth hair, which may be 15,000 years old.
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-I'm here almost every day. -How many teams do you play on?
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Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday ... Seven.
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And then I'm replacing on an eighth, but only occasionally.
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- Do you love softball? -Yes.
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-How long have you lived here? -18-19 years. 1998.
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19 years. Hold on then ... scary.
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It took three months to move.
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I got up, went in here and built bookshelves all day.
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I went home, packed books until midnight, slept a little, and got up again-
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-cycled here and built several bookshelves. And so on...
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When I buy a new book, I have to relocate. There is no more space.
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This book about the catacombs of Rome is so heavy-
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-that it's been there since I put it there 15 years ago.
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I took it to a fair. Never again. So it says-
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-until someone comes and asks for a book about the catacombs of Rome.
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This is a monograph on fish fossils from the 18th century.
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It is a large book with amazing plates of fish fossils.
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Life-size. So the big fish
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-has very large plates. Like this.
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They can get even bigger.
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Playboy, go home.
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Strand was founded by my grandfather in 1927-
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-in a famous area of New York, Book Row.
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There were 48 booksellers. Today, only Strand is left.
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My dad got a job there when he was 13.
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He would rather be on the floor. His desk was in the middle of the store.
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I met some wonderful, eccentric and charming people-
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-at the bookstores on Fourth Avenue.
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I remember it was a bunch of slightly dusty Jewish men-
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-who got annoyed if one wanted to buy a book.
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They were not businessmen.
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They just wanted to read all day. In hot weather they sat outside.
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They were covered in dust and their fingers were yellow with nicotine.
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They wore glasses because they had been reading in the dark since childhood.
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If they were politely asked what a book cost, they did not look up.
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I thought I would end up like that.
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One could find anything. They did not know what they had.
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If you were lucky, you got a prize. About 40 cents, so that was good.
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That was not the case in Strand.
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I often found books there and asked someone about them-
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and he said, "Where did you find it?" "Behind that door."
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"You must not be there! They are not price marked yet."
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So a big part of the experience for me is sniffing around the store.
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I still do, even if you are not allowed to.
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I'm sorry I did not photograph the street.
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It has really changed.
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There was traffic in both directions on 59th Street, also by tram.
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It was founded by our father in 1925.
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One of Fourth Avenue's bookstores.
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When he opened, he did not have enough books-
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-so he put them sideways.
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We were there on Saturday, sharpening pencils and looking at the children's books.
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I wanted to work there one summer when I went to college.
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But I could not type, so I had to find another job.
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It was the same the summer after. "Can you type now?"
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So he was not trying to get us to work there.
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People ask how he got all his daughters to work there.
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"I am lucky."
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But he never told us that was his goal.
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We thought it was our own decision.
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My mom started working in the industry when I was ten.
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She was amazing. She created the gallery upstairs.
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She said my father should not force us to work there.
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She was smart.
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On the top floor is the autograph department.
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I started it to have my own. I have many sisters.
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I love baseball. Here we have a baseball signed by Bill Clinton.
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Zack has collected 11,012 baseballs from various Major League matches.
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He's also your world champion in "Arkanoid".
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It can be autographs of money from the colonial era-
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and autographs in different languages that are impossible to interpret.
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It's a constant hunt.
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-Why has your store survived? -We own the property.
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Our father bought the building and we have received many offers.
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The brokers call five to ten times a week, but we do not sell.
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It is not excluded, but not for the money they offer.
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Then we had to close and we enjoy being here.
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So we pay for the joy of working here.
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If I had an hour between different commitments-
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-I found a bookstore. And back then, all booksellers were self-employed.
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The employees were real booksellers.
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They decided for themselves what they wanted to sell.
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Not like at Barnes & Noble. Today's youth say to me:
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"My Barnes & Noble is closed." But they forced everyone else to close!
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It was an old-fashioned store. Books everywhere and a cat, Linda.
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It was Skyline Books on West 18th Street 13.
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My specialties were beatnik culture, photography, art.
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We were probably known as a shop for collectors.
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I was behind with the rent so I had to close.
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The business was going badly. People bought books online.
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It was a hard time. We held many sales in the end.
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75% discount. Even 90% off at some point.
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It was fun as long as it lasted.
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In the 1950s, there were 368 bookstores in New York City.
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Today there are 79.
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The decline in bookstores has had a major effect.
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It was a path into the industry.
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I grew up in the 70s and learned everything from antique bookstores.
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There you got a sense of the material.
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I lived almost in bookstores and antique shops.
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I went from New England to New Jersey-
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and stopped at all antiquarian bookstores along the way.
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Car trips were an important way of obtaining materials.
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We filled a station wagon with books and sent loads of books home.
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This is how it was done before.
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People do not have the patience to botanize.
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Most people want a specific book. It requires some interest
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-for that one should want to find a book that one was not looking for.
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One has to see a large selection to be able to price books.
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An experienced bookseller can see if it is an ordinary book-
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-which should have a regular price, or whether it requires a little imagination.
238
00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:44,280
I have a pretty good imagination.
239
00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,200
My first job in the industry was at Strand as a teenager-
240
00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:53,720
-and to see Fred Bass review thousands of incoming books.
241
00:21:53,880 --> 00:22:00,320
He sorted them so quickly. "It's good," I said. "No".
242
00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,640
He was so fast.
243
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,560
I thought I understood books-
244
00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,800
-but he saw something in them that I did not perceive.
245
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:16,680
In the last year, we have seen an explosive increase
246
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,680
-in the number of physical antique shops-
247
00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,040
-which sells material from the post-war period.
248
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:30,800
But they can not replace the antique shops that existed before.
249
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:38,440
This will be our business. Right now it's a shoe store.
250
00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,880
We got the keys yesterday and open for March.
251
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:49,000
We are part of a boom in local, independent bookstores-
252
00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:53,080
-which really works locally and takes care of-
253
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:58,480
the interests and needs of the residents, which the chains did not.
254
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,840
A moment. The Adam Weinberger Antique Store.
255
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:14,320
There is a bad connection. Plays from the 19th century?
256
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:21,560
My stores are getting full and it's expensive to rent in Manhattan.
257
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:26,200
-so I chose to gather everything in one apartment instead.
258
00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:29,120
Kansas.
259
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:34,880
The Adam Weinberger Antique Store. What books are these?
260
00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:42,240
The sides are of parchment, so think about how many cows have been used for it.
261
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,000
It's hard to know if anyone will sell.
262
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,400
I once went to someone's house with a couple of empty filing cabinets.
263
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:59,120
-which are good to have books in, but the lady who opened the door-
264
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:04,760
- looked at the boxes and said, "You will not need them today."
265
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,680
I understand her. Here I come and want to ravage-
266
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,080
-a decades old collection.
267
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,520
- Did he buy them all at Gotham? -Yes.
268
00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:28,200
I also love cats. That's why I like Gore so much.
269
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:38,240
Unsigned beatnik material, books missing covers ...
270
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:44,520
There are ten copies of all that on the web. Especially by Kerouac.
271
00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,320
Here lived my uncle Jack Allentuck and his wife Marsha Allentuck.
272
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:08,200
They were academics. I take care of everything I inherited from them.
273
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:11,320
The remains of theirs, so to speak.
274
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:18,600
That sounded interesting. The woman teaches art history.
275
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,520
She was an expert on Blake and the Romantic
276
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,640
-and I immediately felt that there was potential.
277
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:34,920
I usually look a little ... Here may be some grains of gold.
278
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:43,360
It's just exciting every time. You are a place-
279
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:49,080
-where anyone has put their soul in the collection. Not just physically
280
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:54,880
-but intellectually, and one can see what caught their interest.
281
00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:08,000
More has changed in the last 15 years than in the previous 150 years.
282
00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:14,080
For several generations, there were so-called book scouts
283
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,480
-which existed on the fringes of the world of books-
284
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:21,240
and merged books and bookstores.
285
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:27,240
They visited church bazaars, estates, library outlets and so on.
286
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,360
And it was a symbiotic relationship.
287
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,120
Today, book scouts are an endangered species.
288
00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:38,680
Martin Stone was a legend.
289
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,960
A charismatic musician who almost became a member of the Rolling Stones.
290
00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:48,320
He traveled with his band, and in his spare time he visited bookstores.
291
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:53,440
Fantastic book scout. Exquisite taste. Understood the connection between books.
292
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,080
He was like a living encyclopedia.
293
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:03,520
I just found a book that appeals to me tremendously.
294
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,800
He always carried around a lot of plastic bags.
295
00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,640
He was already done when the rest of us started.
296
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:16,360
He showed us his purchases and told about them. I learned a lot.
297
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:22,480
Martin did not just know everything. He could also impart his knowledge.
298
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,400
His understanding of book-
299
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:30,000
-stretched from the offer box all the way up to the expensive, locked cupboards.
300
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:36,280
The industry changed dramatically when computers came along.
301
00:27:36,360 --> 00:27:41,480
Books that had cost $ 50, $ 75, $ 100, $ 100 and $ 125
302
00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:46,800
- suddenly cost $ 20-30 and there were plenty of them.
303
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:52,840
It's almost harder to find a cheap book than an expensive one.
304
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,560
-because you had to find it yourself.
305
00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:00,720
In the last ten years, all the garbage that has accumulated dust somewhere has
306
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:06,040
-appeared on the Internet. The supply has increased enormously.
307
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,760
This applies to books, toys. Anything.
308
00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:15,120
The internet ruined everything. It's good for collectors-
309
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:21,200
-who can find books they've been looking for for decades.
310
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:27,240
But surviving as an antique shop is almost impossible.
311
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,000
Being a collector is about the hunt, not the object.
312
00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:35,160
You look for a book for 20 years, find it, have an orgasm
313
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:37,000
-and puts it away.
314
00:28:38,480 --> 00:28:44,440
The Internet has ruined the hunt. Give me your credit card and 45 minutes-
315
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,480
-then I can get an almost complete Edith Wharton collection.
316
00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,080
But why should I?
317
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,160
The Internet will always be a double-edged sword.
318
00:28:56,320 --> 00:29:02,520
Today one must have the best, the cheapest or the only edition.
319
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,880
The Internet changed the concept of "rare".
320
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,680
Those who deal with very special things
321
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:17,960
- received confirmation from the internet. "I have things you can't get your hands on."
322
00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:22,960
But working with modern first editions was devastating.
323
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,120
They had to adapt or die.
324
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:32,040
The industry today has become colder. An era is over.
325
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:37,200
The Internet, of course, democratizes supply and demand.
326
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:43,080
But it has also killed a lot of the dark, gloomy and funny.
327
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:49,280
One problem is that the printed word disappears.
328
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:55,360
If you say "Kindle", there are probably many in the industry who shake.
329
00:29:55,440 --> 00:30:00,400
Many wonder where we end up. If you do not need to print books
330
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:06,680
-but get them on his electronic device, then what are we going to sell?
331
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,240
That is a legitimate concern.
332
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:17,720
An incredible example of this we got at the Oscars in 2006-
333
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:23,400
-when Larry McMurtry won an Oscar for best screenplay after a book-
334
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:26,120
-for "Brokeback Mountain".
335
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,920
Finally, I want to thank all the bookstores in the world.
336
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,920
"Brokeback Mountain" was a book first.
337
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,680
From the small bookstores to the world's largest bookstore
338
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,520
-have you all contributed to the book's survival.
339
00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:48,280
A wonderful form of culture that we must not lose.
340
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:51,720
People always want what is unique.
341
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:56,920
Interest in modern first editions is falling in favor of collectors' items.
342
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:02,080
and quirky, printed materials which previously had no collector value-
343
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,720
-but that is interesting.
344
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:10,520
Technology has made archives more interesting to institutions.
345
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,120
We sold a few files to a foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
346
00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:18,960
Woodie Guthries and Bob Dylan's Archive.
347
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:23,880
e can take all the audiovisual material
348
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,640
-and turn it into a gold mine-
349
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,960
-for fans and academics. You could not do that ten years ago.
350
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:39,440
I cleaned up my office and had all the material from my books-
351
00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,560
-all the articles from The New Yorker and all my notes-
352
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:48,080
-and I started thinking that I might not have to throw it away.
353
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:54,200
I've known Glenn for a long time, and I knew he had sold
354
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,640
-other archives.
355
00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:02,520
He looked at my material and we talked about where it should go.
356
00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:09,200
-and found that it fit best in an academic library.
357
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:14,680
It was a strange feeling to become someone's homework.
358
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:21,240
The positive is that everything is now really well organized.
359
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,880
The irony of being at Columbia University-
360
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:30,640
-and I'm going there this summer and to use the archive for a book project.
361
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:37,160
But when so much of the work today is done on a computer
362
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:43,360
-I'm thinking about how we can learn something about the author's process.
363
00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:48,040
The computer leaves no trace of editing.
364
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:54,600
The difference between an archive and a collection is
365
00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:59,680
-that the archive contains everything. Also the more unexpected parts.
366
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:06,160
We have collections from Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry-
367
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,560
and James Baldwin.
368
00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:14,440
Baldwin grew up in Harlem and learned to read at the Schomburg Center.
369
00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,920
-so he really belongs here.
370
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:23,680
His archive contains both notes, completed novels-
371
00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,520
-and a lot of different drafts.
372
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:31,000
There are notes he has made at bars and at various hotels.
373
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,520
One can follow Baldwin's development as a writer.
374
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:40,080
Everything from early poems to the works we know and love today.
375
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:44,520
The curator, a position I held for many years, is an important
376
00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,720
-which both provide material to the institution-
377
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,040
-and make sure to forward it.
378
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:56,400
One should also try to look at the collection as a whole.
379
00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,480
What does it mean? How to find the connection in the material?
380
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:04,040
It comes from a love of the material.
381
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,719
I had it, both as a writer and as a book collector.
382
00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:13,239
So I had bought books before and I knew sellers-
383
00:34:13,320 --> 00:34:17,440
-which has helped build the collections.
384
00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:22,560
Another interesting thing is how collectors shape the collections-
385
00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:26,280
-which ends up in the various archives.
386
00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:30,520
We've told about the lives of black people -
387
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:35,199
-creativity and cultural significance for almost a century.
388
00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:42,480
But I do not know if we have fully understood the significance of all that.
389
00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:47,199
MY SOUL HAS BECOME AS DEEP AS THE RIVERS
390
00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:02,560
I did not think I should be a bookseller. I had no idea.
391
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:11,040
After high school, I got a job with JN Bartfield on 57th Street.
392
00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,880
I was a specialist in finely bound sets.
393
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:20,400
I worked there for 13 years before I decided to quit.
394
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:27,280
I started going to the estate at five-six in the morning.
395
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:32,600
In the beginning, I lived in my parents' basement in the Bronx.
396
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:39,280
I went to an estate in Connecticut and I was at the front of the queue.
397
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:44,040
I entered the room and on the bookshelf I saw-
398
00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:49,640
-a fantastic set of Balzac's works, about 40 volumes.
399
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:54,120
The whole set cost $ 200.
400
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:58,640
I ran there and shouted, "They are mine!"
401
00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:02,480
"Do not touch them! They are mine!" What a find!
402
00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:07,520
I will never forget that. That's how it all started.
403
00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:15,360
We trade in luxury goods. Books are still underrated.
404
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:21,240
People do not understand how much work lies in the binding.
405
00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:27,200
Leather bindings must be maintained. People can not find out.
406
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:35,160
If they are in good condition, it is enough to give them oil every 5 to 10 years.
407
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:46,480
The first thing people ask is, "What makes a book rare?"
408
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:51,400
This means they are hard to find and are coveted.
409
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:56,240
There are three kinds of people who buy books.
410
00:36:56,400 --> 00:37:00,160
Private collectors, dealers filling their warehouses
411
00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,600
and institutions.
412
00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:08,360
The problem today is that there are fewer and fewer private collectors.
413
00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:14,880
We talked about the smell of old books-
414
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:19,280
-and about the magic that the beautiful editions radiate.
415
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:23,000
It was interesting how they set the prices.
416
00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:28,640
We have specific interests, so if we find something, we buy it.
417
00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,600
If it is not too expensive.
418
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:36,160
I forgot the money at home, and it's good the same-
419
00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:38,080
-because I was tempted.
420
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,640
My parents were interested in antiques-
421
00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:33,400
-and I got five cents every time I behaved nicely in a store.
422
00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:38,120
Eventually, I had enough money to buy a book.
423
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:43,440
I really did not want to collect rare books-
424
00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:48,080
-but I liked Frank Baum's stories.
425
00:38:48,240 --> 00:38:51,600
When I was 12 years old-
426
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:58,400
-Columbia University had an exhibition on Frank Baum's works.
427
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:03,600
They were looking for some things they had not been able to get.
428
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:11,120
My parents saw the article and I became the youngest lender
429
00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,640
-to Columbia University ever.
430
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:21,320
At that time, children's books were not considered
431
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:26,600
-as something special. There were books like "Alice in Wonderland" -
432
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:32,520
-but the one who sold his first edition of "The Wizard of Oz" to me-
433
00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:35,480
-did not know it was a first edition.
434
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:37,680
It cost five dollars.
435
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:42,640
I love working with books. It never felt like work.
436
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:49,360
In 1967, Maurice Sendak searched for early books on mechanics.
437
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,760
-by Lothar Meggendorfer.
438
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:57,880
I had some pieces and we eventually became friends.
439
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:04,920
By the end of 1969, I had just started a company
440
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:11,960
-and wanted Maurice Sendak to illustrate the catalog cover.
441
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:17,320
And he agreed. And Maurice's genius
442
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,280
-when he made caricatures,
443
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:24,880
-that he drew both me and my companion as teddy bears.
444
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:30,800
I was the bear dressed in the vest.
445
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:37,080
And that was the beginning of a much closer friendship.
446
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:47,360
This is our gallery on Broadway. Today it is used for storage.
447
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:54,080
Here are originals by Maurice Sendak and our other collectibles.
448
00:40:54,240 --> 00:40:58,360
Namely, Chinese propaganda with President Mao.
449
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:03,680
Maurice once came by and he called it
450
00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:09,360
-a Mao and Mo exhibition. Mao on the one hand, Sendak on the other.
451
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:11,400
Mo is his nickname.
452
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:21,160
"A book is so much more than just reading it." Maurice Sendak.
453
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:29,240
I bought the most expensive American book ever for a customer in 1989.
454
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,720
Poe's first book, "Tamerlane".
455
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,920
It is called the black tulip in American literature.
456
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,600
There are only a handful of it.
457
00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:44,440
Someone had bought it at a thrift store for $ 15.
458
00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:47,160
I gave $ 200,000 for it.
459
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:52,600
It is a good table saver. Someone had put a glass on the
460
00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:56,280
-and left a circle on the cover.
461
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:06,000
I'll probably get a wider selection in than most in the industry.
462
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:10,840
For example, I have handled books bound with human skin.
463
00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:16,040
I have had two such books. Both were English editions
464
00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:19,440
-of Hans Holbein's "Dance of Death".
465
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:25,760
One was bound by George Sutcliffe, the great English bookbinder.
466
00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:30,680
-and on the cover there was a skull made of bones and teeth.
467
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:35,760
It was a powerful philosophical object, and some human-
468
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:41,920
-would not get near it while others would touch it.
469
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:46,560
These gemstone bindings are the most beautiful in world history.
470
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:50,920
The book was taken to Sangorski & Sutcliffe-
471
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:57,240
-which encapsulated it in 24 carat gold and adorned it with precious stones.
472
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:00,560
The book was opened between the gold.
473
00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:09,480
Not many people know that there are waves of fashion in our industry as well.
474
00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:15,520
But there was a time when a perfect cover was very in.
475
00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:18,400
In the 80s and early 90s.
476
00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:25,080
In the beginning, they were just to protect the book from dust.
477
00:43:25,240 --> 00:43:29,000
It was thrown away when one bought the book.
478
00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:35,040
Let's take "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
479
00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:40,520
A first edition in fine condition costs $ 5,000.
480
00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:47,920
A first edition with a worn cover costs $ 15,000.
481
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:54,880
A first edition with a cover in good condition costs $ 150,000.
482
00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:58,240
And that's probably due to
483
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:03,200
-that the cover is considered art.
484
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,960
Thank God for collectors who kept the covers-
485
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:14,760
and made us aware of their information value.
486
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:19,480
The first book says something completely different from the tenth book.
487
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:24,280
-and certain biographical information is sometimes found only there.
488
00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,880
We're trying to bind a book in Mylar.
489
00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:34,280
We use the 5 mm variant.
490
00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:50,960
And with a little luck ... it fits the book perfectly.
491
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:56,160
I have heard people say that if a book is signed to a particular
492
00:44:56,240 --> 00:45:01,080
-and that person is known, the value of the book increases.
493
00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:07,040
If it is signed to an unknown person, the book is worth less.
494
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:09,920
But I do not understand that at all.
495
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:16,200
Books signed by the author-
496
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:22,720
-to an important person suddenly became extremely important.
497
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:28,280
In the past, people were looking for first editions with nice covers.
498
00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:32,840
-but now it became more important with important signatures.
499
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:35,840
I like all interesting books-
500
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:40,360
-but I became interested in books with a special story.
501
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:44,880
The best books seem to have been run over by a bus.
502
00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:47,600
But it has to be the right bus.
503
00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:54,320
That some books are rare is not because everyone wants those books.
504
00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:57,760
Those who appreciate rare book-
505
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:01,280
-are as rare as the books themselves.
506
00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:09,840
We start bidding on the 45,000 Enigma machine.
507
00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:12,120
50.000. 55.000.
508
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:16,080
Rare books fall into the category of
509
00:46:16,240 --> 00:46:22,120
objects of antiquarian interest. They do not fit into the art category-
510
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:26,440
-or in the furniture category and they are not the same customers-
511
00:46:26,520 --> 00:46:28,560
-which buys collectibles.
512
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:33,760
Things that were once considered volatile
513
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:38,760
-are now central to the industry, and to the collections-
514
00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:42,600
-because they tell a different story.
515
00:46:42,680 --> 00:46:46,240
Everything falls under the heading "evidence".
516
00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:49,320
I was interested in early
517
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,360
-the broad definition of historical evidence.
518
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:59,440
At that time, many traditional historians claimed
519
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:03,960
-that the visual material did not constitute evidence.
520
00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:12,800
A good bookseller is a different kind of discoverer and storyteller.
521
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:20,520
They see the raw material and make important contextual contributions.
522
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:23,440
Therefore, they save their descriptions-
523
00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:29,760
-to not lose all the history they have researched.
524
00:47:30,000 --> 00:48:30,000
PeG@SuS
Urang Sunda Asli
525
00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:36,000
I am suspicious of people who deal with the sale of rare books-
526
00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:40,520
-as we were a kind of guardians of a holy flame.
527
00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:45,800
It's too light, too superficial. But it is important.
528
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:54,200
I want to strike a blow for the printed material in a digital world.
529
00:47:54,280 --> 00:48:00,000
Physical objects often contain evidence that is a solid component.
530
00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:03,920
Such as ownership, listing
531
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:09,680
-how the book is processed, type of binding, paper quality.
532
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:13,680
You can find things in the physical edition of the book-
533
00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,520
-which tells their own story.
534
00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:21,280
One of my oldest friends and clients is Michael Zinman.
535
00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:26,640
He has one of the best collections of early printed material from the United States.
536
00:48:26,720 --> 00:48:32,720
I asked myself what was left of early printed editions.
537
00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:37,600
I could only find out by buying, looking and asking.
538
00:48:37,760 --> 00:48:43,600
I never hesitated to buy a second or third copy of the same book.
539
00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:48,840
Or a fourth copy. I just kept buying. And along the way
540
00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:53,800
-I started comparing the editions. And then you learn something.
541
00:48:54,680 --> 00:49:00,160
Many variations can be found and conclusions can be drawn
542
00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:04,800
-which you would never have been able to if you had only one perfect copy.
543
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:10,640
That was our "critical mass" theory. By collecting our material
544
00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:15,160
-and see what patterns we could find-
545
00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:18,360
-could we build better theses-
546
00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:24,400
-even if we started with an idea of what we would find and prove it.
547
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:33,320
We're in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where they make M & M's.
548
00:49:33,480 --> 00:49:36,920
But unfortunately you are not allowed to visit the factory.
549
00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:40,200
We have our warehouses here.
550
00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:45,840
Approximately 300,000 books in three different buildings.
551
00:49:45,920 --> 00:49:50,080
Everything from valuable books to books for $ 20.
552
00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:53,280
Each shelf can tell a story.
553
00:49:53,440 --> 00:49:58,200
I know where every single book comes from and the story behind it.
554
00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:01,520
We have some space left up there.
555
00:50:01,600 --> 00:50:05,440
-Then he buys another warehouse. -No.
556
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:11,200
- Does anyone have more books? -Empty Congalton is shown close by.
557
00:50:12,200 --> 00:50:17,600
-But this is enough. -It happens that books disappear.
558
00:50:20,360 --> 00:50:26,920
Each department has ten shelves, and here are eight or nine departments.
559
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:32,720
There's a lot of poetry. Nine departments a thousand times or even more.
560
00:50:32,800 --> 00:50:38,040
Poetry books are thin. So we have 10,000 poetry books here.
561
00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:43,080
He thinks poetry is on the way back. I'm not sure.
562
00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:48,560
All this is Whistler.
563
00:50:51,160 --> 00:50:55,680
Bookbinding. Here we have an unusual title.
564
00:50:55,760 --> 00:51:00,120
"Amish Love". Så...
565
00:51:00,200 --> 00:51:04,920
But no pictures. Yes, there are some pictures.
566
00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:08,200
What a picture!
567
00:51:09,960 --> 00:51:14,920
He collects everything. A Masonic throne.
568
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:18,560
Tribal masks from the gods know where.
569
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:25,920
The seagulls are also interesting.
570
00:51:26,080 --> 00:51:31,560
It's a pure treasure hunt. Especially right here. You never know what you will find.
571
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:38,600
Some say that one should not assemble oneself and compete with the customers.
572
00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:42,680
I try to avoid it, but I love to collect.
573
00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:48,040
And I have no problem selling the books. There we have the aircraft collection.
574
00:51:48,200 --> 00:51:51,080
Amelia Earhart.
575
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:56,000
-A piece of the Hindenburg airship. -Where is it?
576
00:51:56,080 --> 00:51:58,520
At the end of this time.
577
00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:01,720
I have a large collection of wallets.
578
00:52:04,360 --> 00:52:07,080
Up there. And hats. Oh my gosh!
579
00:52:08,360 --> 00:52:11,480
"When he creeps in, I call Sotheby's."
580
00:52:11,560 --> 00:52:13,720
Heard at the New York Book Fair.
581
00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:17,920
I have 550. 600, here in the room.
582
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,840
Rare books have been traded for centuries.
583
00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:27,840
The first auctions in modern times were book auctions in the 17th century.
584
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:30,640
Now it's completely different.
585
00:52:30,720 --> 00:52:35,480
First came the phone bids and then the internet bids.
586
00:52:35,640 --> 00:52:40,880
I visit a lot of auctions and sometimes there are only three people.
587
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:46,000
I'm one of them, and the auctioneer is another.
588
00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:48,400
The rest are staff.
589
00:52:48,560 --> 00:52:50,920
19.000. 20.000.
590
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:54,440
To the Frank Siebert auction in 1999-
591
00:52:54,520 --> 00:53:00,320
was the strategy that when one could look beyond space-
592
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:03,880
-and see the one who bid against one-
593
00:53:04,040 --> 00:53:07,080
-another than if the other party bid over the phone.
594
00:53:07,240 --> 00:53:10,680
I have 300,000 on the right.
595
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:15,840
If you are there, you get a better sense of the rhythm.
596
00:53:15,920 --> 00:53:20,000
You have the attention of the auctioneer and you can speed it up.
597
00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:24,440
-or slow down. One can psyche the opponents.
598
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:29,120
Last chance. I have 360,000 on the right.
599
00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:33,000
360,000, number 833. Thank you very much.
600
00:53:34,360 --> 00:53:37,480
I am fascinated by the history of the auctions-
601
00:53:37,560 --> 00:53:40,920
-and of what drives the participants.
602
00:53:41,840 --> 00:53:45,920
If you are reading a beginner's guide to auctioning
603
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:49,720
-where are the basic rules-
604
00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:57,280
-It will always say that you must have an amount limit and stick to it.
605
00:53:57,360 --> 00:54:01,080
It sounds reasonable until one is there.
606
00:54:01,160 --> 00:54:08,480
I have experienced it myself. If I really want something-
607
00:54:08,560 --> 00:54:11,760
-so my limit is my bank balance.
608
00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:16,240
How much am I willing to starve because I'm flat?
609
00:54:17,160 --> 00:54:23,160
Ownership, possession and competition make people do unexpected things
610
00:54:23,240 --> 00:54:25,680
- which is great to see from the podium.
611
00:54:32,360 --> 00:54:36,480
Can you tell us how you ended up in the industry?
612
00:54:36,560 --> 00:54:41,120
The answer consists of one word: nepotism.
613
00:54:41,480 --> 00:54:46,880
I'm a third generation antique bookstore.
614
00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:52,480
My grandfather came to London in 1888 and got a job at Pickering & Chatto.
615
00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:56,200
His brothers had booksellers in Cork and Dublin.
616
00:54:56,360 --> 00:55:01,240
Joyce mentions one of them in "Dubliners".
617
00:55:01,320 --> 00:55:04,680
"Almost every day when he finished teaching
618
00:55:04,760 --> 00:55:08,440
-he went along the quay to the antique shop. "
619
00:55:08,520 --> 00:55:13,240
"Hickey's on Bachelor's Walk, Webb's or Massey's on Anston's Quay-
620
00:55:13,320 --> 00:55:16,680
-or to O'Clohissey's in the alley. "
621
00:55:16,840 --> 00:55:22,520
To give an idea of what was available in the 1920s-
622
00:55:22,600 --> 00:55:28,760
-can you take the original script for "Alice in Wonderland".
623
00:55:29,520 --> 00:55:35,200
Alice Liddell, later Mrs. Hargreaves, the book's main character
624
00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:42,240
-sold the manuscript at Sotheby's in 1928 and my grandfather was there.
625
00:55:42,320 --> 00:55:47,080
Rosenbach bought it for £ 15,400.
626
00:55:48,360 --> 00:55:50,200
I 1958-
627
00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:56,040
- my father started the actual book department at Christie's.
628
00:55:56,200 --> 00:56:00,160
And in 1964, I became the department's third employee.
629
00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:07,360
In 1978, I sold my first Gutenberg Bible for $ 2.2 million. dollars.
630
00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:11,800
It was considered a huge amount. And in 1980-
631
00:56:11,880 --> 00:56:16,600
was then sold to Vincis "Codex Leicester" to Armand Hammer-
632
00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:20,080
-for what now amounts to five million dollars.
633
00:56:20,240 --> 00:56:26,320
It was something of a disappointment. It was called a collection of drawings-
634
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:30,000
and not a scientific manuscript.
635
00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:36,120
When it was sold again in 1994, interest in science had increased.
636
00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:39,640
"Codex Hammer" af Leonardo da Vinci.
637
00:56:39,720 --> 00:56:46,240
We start at $ 5,500 ... We start at $ 5.5 million. Good start.
638
00:56:46,320 --> 00:56:50,560
I messed it up and people laughed.
639
00:56:50,720 --> 00:56:54,600
We have 14 million. 15 million over the phone.
640
00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:59,160
The reservation price was 15 million. Then there was the second row-
641
00:56:59,240 --> 00:57:02,640
- against the phone. Only two bidders.
642
00:57:02,800 --> 00:57:07,800
We have 23.5 million in this room. 24 million over the phone.
643
00:57:09,200 --> 00:57:10,760
25 million.
644
00:57:10,840 --> 00:57:15,680
Bill Gates did not come and look at the script. He bought it unseen.
645
00:57:15,840 --> 00:57:22,160
$ 28 million over the phone. Last chance. 28 million. Thanks.
646
00:57:23,200 --> 00:57:27,240
It is still today the highest auction price
647
00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:30,080
-for a book or a manuscript.
648
00:57:30,160 --> 00:57:34,240
There is a big difference between book auctions and art auctions.
649
00:57:34,320 --> 00:57:40,440
One clear difference is that books are not unique.
650
00:57:40,600 --> 00:57:47,640
A painting is completely unique. There are then very rare books-
651
00:57:47,800 --> 00:57:53,600
-but with the exception of illuminated manuscripts and medieval editions-
652
00:57:53,680 --> 00:57:58,680
-which were unique, there are always more copies.
653
00:57:58,840 --> 00:58:01,280
And that affects the price.
654
00:58:01,360 --> 00:58:06,440
Antique shops have such deep roots in history-
655
00:58:06,520 --> 00:58:11,880
-that it is unparalleled. It has a completely different weight.
656
00:58:12,920 --> 00:58:17,520
Books are not trophies like other artefacts can be.
657
00:58:17,680 --> 00:58:21,960
One more bid. 400 million!
658
00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:28,520
Collecting art is about being able to say, "It's not yours."
659
00:58:28,600 --> 00:58:35,400
"By owning this image, I deny you the right to own it."
660
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:39,720
"I'm better than you because you can not have it. It's mine."
661
00:58:40,760 --> 00:58:45,960
People who collect rare books have deeply personal ties-
662
00:58:46,040 --> 00:58:48,160
-to the material they collect.
663
00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:53,040
The books are in a library, so you almost have to be invited-
664
00:58:53,120 --> 00:58:55,400
-into the collector's mind.
665
00:58:56,320 --> 00:59:01,440
The reason why there are more art collectors than book collectors
666
00:59:01,520 --> 00:59:04,600
-is that one can showcase his wealth.
667
00:59:04,680 --> 00:59:12,080
It's boring and I've never met an arrogant book speculator.
668
00:59:12,160 --> 00:59:16,000
A person who owns houses all over the world-
669
00:59:16,080 --> 00:59:21,520
-because he bought James Bond novels at just the right time.
670
00:59:21,680 --> 00:59:26,080
When I came to New York, it was called the art world.
671
00:59:26,160 --> 00:59:29,280
Now it is called the art market.
672
00:59:35,480 --> 00:59:38,600
I started in the newspaper business.
673
00:59:38,680 --> 00:59:41,600
I worked at AB Bookman's Weekly.
674
00:59:41,760 --> 00:59:46,640
The magazine that everyone in the industry read.
675
00:59:46,800 --> 00:59:51,080
I was the editor-in-chief and writer, and I was fired first.
676
00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:53,080
-when the magazine was closed.
677
00:59:53,240 --> 00:59:57,680
The owner had misjudged the importance of the internet.
678
00:59:57,760 --> 01:00:04,080
He rejected a partnership with a new player in the market.
679
01:00:04,160 --> 01:00:07,480
Jeff Bezos and Amazon.
680
01:00:07,560 --> 01:00:11,520
This summer I finished my book.
681
01:00:11,680 --> 01:00:15,440
It's called "A Conversation That Is Bigger Than the Universe".
682
01:00:15,520 --> 01:00:19,360
It's about an exhibition at The Grolier Club.
683
01:00:19,440 --> 01:00:24,840
It's based on the books I've been reading and thinking about for the last 25 years.
684
01:00:24,920 --> 01:00:29,920
To me, Mary Shelley is the starting point of science fiction.
685
01:00:31,880 --> 01:00:36,440
One of the metaphors I play with during my "conversations" -
686
01:00:36,600 --> 01:00:41,080
-is a walk in the woods. That's what I love most.
687
01:00:41,160 --> 01:00:45,320
I have no goal when I go, but I always lead-
688
01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:48,560
-after edible mushrooms.
689
01:00:48,640 --> 01:00:52,640
Science fiction can seem like a forest for the uninitiated.
690
01:00:52,720 --> 01:00:59,800
-but there are paths and one can learn to recognize the trees.
691
01:00:59,880 --> 01:01:03,400
It also makes me think of science fiction-
692
01:01:03,480 --> 01:01:07,800
-as a constantly innovative literary genre.
693
01:01:16,080 --> 01:01:20,080
Denne bog hedder "The Smell of Telescopes."
694
01:01:20,160 --> 01:01:24,640
It stands here almost solely because of the title.
695
01:01:27,040 --> 01:01:30,800
When the artist thought of the future in 1986 ...
696
01:01:30,960 --> 01:01:34,840
Of course there are phone boxes! And robot eyes-
697
01:01:34,920 --> 01:01:37,960
and portable synthesizers.
698
01:01:38,120 --> 01:01:43,800
Science fiction does not predict the future. It interprets the present.
699
01:01:45,200 --> 01:01:49,760
"Doesn't it bother you that you can not afford to buy the books you want?"
700
01:01:49,840 --> 01:01:52,360
Edith Wharton, "House of Mirth"
701
01:01:55,120 --> 01:02:00,600
If you have the collector gene, you collect things. My dad and I have it again.
702
01:02:02,200 --> 01:02:05,640
The English do not have a word for such a space.
703
01:02:05,720 --> 01:02:09,160
In German it is called "Wunderkammer".
704
01:02:09,240 --> 01:02:12,000
A closet of wonder.
705
01:02:13,520 --> 01:02:16,560
My library is unique in several ways.
706
01:02:16,640 --> 01:02:19,400
It is the only library in the world-
707
01:02:19,480 --> 01:02:24,360
-which is dedicated to human imagination.
708
01:02:26,200 --> 01:02:31,440
It is also unique in that the space is built to fit the subject.
709
01:02:31,520 --> 01:02:36,360
The subject is imagination, and the space is a tribute to the Escher-
710
01:02:36,520 --> 01:02:39,680
-if imagination was good.
711
01:02:39,760 --> 01:02:46,880
And it's one of the world's largest private libraries.
712
01:02:48,120 --> 01:02:53,480
And the books are sorted by book height.
713
01:02:53,560 --> 01:02:57,160
You can create your own connections in the library.
714
01:02:57,240 --> 01:03:01,360
I'm not saying, "Here are books on naval wars."
715
01:03:02,240 --> 01:03:07,760
The library's steps into the virtual world will probably be quite painless.
716
01:03:07,920 --> 01:03:14,920
As soon as the 3D scan is good enough, we scan books and objects.
717
01:03:15,080 --> 01:03:19,440
-so anyone can recreate them with a 3D printer.
718
01:03:19,600 --> 01:03:23,560
Provided I live that long.
719
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:34,400
I do not know why I gather. I am shown an extreme example.
720
01:03:35,600 --> 01:03:41,520
I have tens of thousands of books. I bought a lot of defective books.
721
01:03:41,600 --> 01:03:46,960
Books that were deficient, but that is a fluid definition.
722
01:03:47,120 --> 01:03:53,240
What was lacking then is not today, and I earned well-
723
01:03:53,320 --> 01:03:56,560
-on that realization.
724
01:03:56,640 --> 01:04:02,960
Books are heavy. And 30,000 books are quite a lot.
725
01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:06,560
Carter Burden had as many books as I did.
726
01:04:06,640 --> 01:04:12,240
-and he spent 1.5 million. to strengthen its apartment
727
01:04:12,400 --> 01:04:15,280
-to be able to have his books there.
728
01:04:15,360 --> 01:04:22,320
The individual's relationship to the book is like a love affair.
729
01:04:22,480 --> 01:04:28,880
It is difficult to explain to others, but satisfying for oneself.
730
01:04:28,960 --> 01:04:34,320
My wife said, "I know I'm not the most important thing in your life."
731
01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:39,840
"What place do I have?" I thought a little and counted.
732
01:04:39,920 --> 01:04:43,920
"Sixth place". That was not the right answer-
733
01:04:44,000 --> 01:04:47,040
-but you lie as you have ridden.
734
01:04:50,800 --> 01:04:55,800
I described myself as a hunter-gatherer because I wanted-
735
01:04:55,880 --> 01:05:01,160
-that people should say, "Look at all those books!"
736
01:05:01,320 --> 01:05:06,040
All these women were important and their stories were important-
737
01:05:06,120 --> 01:05:08,240
-but they were ignored.
738
01:05:09,240 --> 01:05:13,520
I always read, but when I went to the University of Pennsylvania-
739
01:05:13,680 --> 01:05:16,840
- I got a job at the Library Company in Philadelphia.
740
01:05:17,000 --> 01:05:20,240
And at the same time, the women's movement started.
741
01:05:20,320 --> 01:05:23,320
I was too lazy to do anything political-
742
01:05:23,400 --> 01:05:30,680
-but I noticed that the women were missing in the book collection.
743
01:05:30,760 --> 01:05:37,320
It was as if the women were just sitting next to her and knitting.
744
01:05:37,400 --> 01:05:42,640
It was a huge abyss. I thought it was a small gap-
745
01:05:42,720 --> 01:05:47,360
-but it was an abyss I jumped into.
746
01:05:47,440 --> 01:05:53,160
I had to tell salespeople and librarians what I was looking for.
747
01:05:53,240 --> 01:05:59,000
Most of the sellers were men. "Show me your women," I said.
748
01:05:59,080 --> 01:06:04,120
"We have none," they said, so I came with a pile. "Now we know."
749
01:06:05,040 --> 01:06:11,080
And they were not that expensive. Except the "capture of the Indians" stories.
750
01:06:11,160 --> 01:06:16,680
My other husband was also a collector and we traveled around and found books.
751
01:06:18,280 --> 01:06:24,360
She was one of the "first to realize the importance of gathering on women.
752
01:06:24,440 --> 01:06:31,840
Not men writing about women, even if they let a man in.
753
01:06:31,920 --> 01:06:35,360
But mostly women writing about women.
754
01:06:36,480 --> 01:06:41,400
There are almost 25,000 items. But it also includes art
755
01:06:41,560 --> 01:06:45,040
photographs and a lot of tinsel.
756
01:06:45,120 --> 01:06:49,320
If you want to exhibit a collection
757
01:06:49,480 --> 01:06:53,360
-then it gets boring if you only have a lot of books.
758
01:06:54,480 --> 01:06:59,200
Things like Annie Oakley's gloves are necessary.
759
01:06:59,280 --> 01:07:05,400
Caroline has an eye for the bizarre but historically important.
760
01:07:05,560 --> 01:07:09,680
And she has a network of people who can help her-
761
01:07:09,760 --> 01:07:13,160
-to realize his life's work-
762
01:07:13,240 --> 01:07:17,800
-which is the largest collection of female American writers-
763
01:07:17,880 --> 01:07:20,400
and historical figures.
764
01:07:21,680 --> 01:07:25,440
I feel a responsibility to create the collection.
765
01:07:25,520 --> 01:07:32,520
It's really fun, but now I feel it's important too-
766
01:07:32,600 --> 01:07:36,480
-and I want others to discover that too.
767
01:07:36,560 --> 01:07:38,760
I dont have children-
768
01:07:38,840 --> 01:07:45,120
-so I can spend my money on whatever I want. Hooray!
769
01:07:52,480 --> 01:07:55,920
In 2017, we introduced a $ 1,000 premium
770
01:07:56,000 --> 01:07:59,360
-for the best book collection created by a young woman.
771
01:07:59,520 --> 01:08:06,280
We wanted to encourage young people to come together, and we wanted women
772
01:08:06,360 --> 01:08:12,000
-who collected books, should begin to see themselves as collectors.
773
01:08:12,160 --> 01:08:18,000
Many people think that one should have a lot of expensive first editions.
774
01:08:18,080 --> 01:08:22,840
But the best collections are built by people who see something others do not see.
775
01:08:22,920 --> 01:08:26,200
Not by people who buy the most famous books.
776
01:08:26,279 --> 01:08:30,720
Most people most often end up as book collectors by chance.
777
01:08:30,800 --> 01:08:36,160
In my case, it was a job application in Las Vegas.
778
01:08:36,319 --> 01:08:41,000
I was to study further and become an academic-
779
01:08:41,080 --> 01:08:48,359
-but then I applied for this interesting job. And after a few weeks there-
780
01:08:48,439 --> 01:08:52,359
-I felt like I would do it for the rest of my life.
781
01:08:52,520 --> 01:08:55,200
Book valuation is an art form.
782
01:08:55,359 --> 01:08:58,040
-How are you? -Nice. And you?
783
01:08:58,200 --> 01:09:00,800
So I called Rebecca.
784
01:09:01,720 --> 01:09:07,200
Being in "Pawn Stars" brought both good and bad things.
785
01:09:07,279 --> 01:09:11,160
But it was an exercise in building bridges.
786
01:09:11,319 --> 01:09:16,080
Every night, up to seven million viewers
787
01:09:16,240 --> 01:09:20,240
-the basics of collecting rare books.
788
01:09:20,399 --> 01:09:25,560
If all goes well, it could bring in 14,000.
789
01:09:25,640 --> 01:09:30,200
-Now you made it more complicated. - That's my job.
790
01:09:30,359 --> 01:09:34,000
It's a little funny that a Las Vegas pawnbroker
791
01:09:34,080 --> 01:09:38,120
-used to get people to start collecting rare books.
792
01:09:38,200 --> 01:09:41,200
But it is as it is.
793
01:09:41,359 --> 01:09:43,479
May I hold it up?
794
01:09:43,560 --> 01:09:47,640
But the best thing is when parents write to me-
795
01:09:47,720 --> 01:09:54,120
-about their daughter has seen me and wants to be a bookseller.
796
01:09:55,920 --> 01:10:02,680
When I started working full time in the industry in 2004-
797
01:10:02,760 --> 01:10:07,920
85% of the booksellers were men. Everyone said it would change.
798
01:10:08,000 --> 01:10:13,640
Lots of women were on their way in. Everything would change.
799
01:10:13,720 --> 01:10:19,480
But 15 years later, there are still 85% men.
800
01:10:20,640 --> 01:10:25,000
Yes, there are famous women who own their businesses-
801
01:10:25,080 --> 01:10:31,040
-but if you consider them exceptions-
802
01:10:31,200 --> 01:10:38,280
-then one overlooks that women have actually been in the industry all along.
803
01:10:38,360 --> 01:10:41,280
They have been working behind the scenes.
804
01:10:42,520 --> 01:10:47,400
And they were respected for their knowledge. Mabel Zahn and Kit Currie-
805
01:10:47,560 --> 01:10:54,200
-were significant personalities, but are often forgotten in the annals-
806
01:10:54,360 --> 01:10:58,920
-because their name was not on the letterhead.
807
01:11:00,040 --> 01:11:05,840
People came in and asked the only man in the store.
808
01:11:05,920 --> 01:11:11,080
-The porter. -Or a customer.
809
01:11:12,560 --> 01:11:15,560
I was the last resort.
810
01:11:15,720 --> 01:11:18,120
It does not happen that often now.
811
01:11:19,800 --> 01:11:26,040
The Grolier Club has long been known as a men's club.
812
01:11:26,120 --> 01:11:31,080
Women were first admitted in the second half of the 20th century.
813
01:11:31,240 --> 01:11:37,120
We are members now, but for a long time women were not welcome there.
814
01:11:38,440 --> 01:11:42,480
When Grolier allowed female members
815
01:11:42,560 --> 01:11:47,680
-Rostenberg and Stern were already well established. Everyone knew them.
816
01:11:47,840 --> 01:11:53,720
They politely asked what they should do to become members.
817
01:11:53,880 --> 01:12:00,240
The secretary replied, "You must prove that you are dedicated."
818
01:12:00,400 --> 01:12:04,080
Hello! It's Rostenberg and Stern!
819
01:12:04,160 --> 01:12:08,120
And they thought, "Well, is it still like that?
820
01:12:09,120 --> 01:12:15,960
So they refused. Today, their archives are in the Grolier Club
821
01:12:16,040 --> 01:12:18,840
-so they eventually accepted-
822
01:12:18,920 --> 01:12:23,400
-that they had long ago proved their passion for books.
823
01:12:24,520 --> 01:12:28,360
It had long been a service industry
824
01:12:28,440 --> 01:12:32,680
-who was a supplier to rich white men's collections.
825
01:12:32,840 --> 01:12:38,120
We can not use the mother ethics standard with retroactive
826
01:12:38,200 --> 01:12:43,680
-and consider them a bunch of misogynists.
827
01:12:44,800 --> 01:12:49,520
But the industry does not remain relevant unless it grows and develops itself.
828
01:12:49,600 --> 01:12:52,200
-and takes into account other perspectives.
829
01:12:52,280 --> 01:12:58,680
Otherwise, it does not reflect today's readers, thinkers and collectors.
830
01:12:58,840 --> 01:13:03,400
I'm often the only black person, but that's changing.
831
01:13:03,560 --> 01:13:07,480
But we need to think about the diversity of the material-
832
01:13:07,560 --> 01:13:11,240
-because that's what attracts people to the industry.
833
01:13:11,400 --> 01:13:15,360
I started collecting because I was writing about what I was collecting.
834
01:13:15,440 --> 01:13:20,680
I still remember the first important books.
835
01:13:22,000 --> 01:13:26,680
Many of the old guard are not interested in change.
836
01:13:26,760 --> 01:13:32,560
They do not stir in the pan. Just like in the country as a whole.
837
01:13:32,640 --> 01:13:36,400
People say one thing and do something else.
838
01:13:36,560 --> 01:13:43,320
Older bookstores are so fatalistic. "After all, they are the ones who buy the books."
839
01:13:43,400 --> 01:13:47,880
How is diversity created? That is the question we are struggling with now.
840
01:13:47,960 --> 01:13:53,440
It's hard to get these people to agree on anything.
841
01:13:53,600 --> 01:13:59,880
One has to try one at a time again and again and push the boundaries.
842
01:14:00,800 --> 01:14:04,560
If we hit a dead end, we try something else.
843
01:14:04,640 --> 01:14:09,680
Because we know that change is needed if the industry is to survive.
844
01:14:14,800 --> 01:14:20,480
I am interested in how culture develops and changes.
845
01:14:21,760 --> 01:14:24,960
I am interested in omissions-
846
01:14:25,040 --> 01:14:29,920
-and in the history of the present.
847
01:14:30,000 --> 01:14:35,560
I think there are some hidden connections-
848
01:14:35,720 --> 01:14:40,880
-which was not part of our childhood news broadcasts.
849
01:14:40,960 --> 01:14:43,720
I am interested in conflict material-
850
01:14:43,800 --> 01:14:47,920
-not just from Afghanistan.
851
01:14:48,080 --> 01:14:53,680
I am fascinated by the fleeting traces of paper from these conflicts.
852
01:14:53,840 --> 01:15:00,480
Paper stores mental energy. I know right away when I find something.
853
01:15:00,640 --> 01:15:05,280
"This immediately changes my perception."
854
01:15:05,440 --> 01:15:10,560
That's the kind I'm looking for. Book collectors do not buy objects
855
01:15:10,640 --> 01:15:12,960
-but stories.
856
01:15:13,040 --> 01:15:18,680
What are my generation and future generations interested in?
857
01:15:18,760 --> 01:15:21,720
They are interested in political
858
01:15:21,880 --> 01:15:26,840
-in issues of capitalism and socialism, in gender issues.
859
01:15:27,000 --> 01:15:31,160
They are interested in the avant-garde and history-
860
01:15:31,320 --> 01:15:36,200
-which connects surrealism with punk and hip hop.
861
01:15:36,360 --> 01:15:42,120
They are interested in drug culture, sexuality and the concept of identity.
862
01:15:43,120 --> 01:15:47,280
A few years ago, I collaborated with Michael Holman.
863
01:15:47,360 --> 01:15:54,320
He coined the term hip hop in an article in the East Village Eye in 1982.
864
01:15:54,480 --> 01:16:00,080
When hip hop came in the late 70s and early 80s-
865
01:16:00,240 --> 01:16:04,440
-it was about a dozen artists.
866
01:16:04,520 --> 01:16:09,800
In 1984, Def Jam released records that sold millions of copies.
867
01:16:09,880 --> 01:16:16,200
MTV joined in, and the early 90s were the golden age of hip hop.
868
01:16:16,280 --> 01:16:18,560
They had the eyes of the world on
869
01:16:18,640 --> 01:16:22,520
-but it was first and foremost a creative culture-
870
01:16:22,600 --> 01:16:26,280
-where people participated enthusiastically.
871
01:16:26,360 --> 01:16:32,320
They did not think about what would happen. They did it for themselves.
872
01:16:32,400 --> 01:16:38,800
It wanted the culture. And that's what people are collecting today.
873
01:16:38,960 --> 01:16:42,720
These dreams in paper form, from before the Internet.
874
01:16:45,280 --> 01:16:51,640
People did not think that hip hop would last or that we would preserve it.
875
01:16:51,720 --> 01:16:54,600
Exactly. "What does it mean?"
876
01:16:56,320 --> 01:17:01,440
At first I did not see it as collecting. But it was a rabbit hole.
877
01:17:01,520 --> 01:17:04,840
I could not stop again.
878
01:17:04,920 --> 01:17:10,040
For many who are in their late 20s, it is very nostalgic.
879
01:17:10,200 --> 01:17:13,440
I remember falling in love with hip hop.
880
01:17:13,520 --> 01:17:17,760
I was waiting for my uncle and my cousin at my grandmother's house.
881
01:17:17,920 --> 01:17:23,840
I heard when they came because I heard my uncle's Lexus SC400.
882
01:17:23,920 --> 01:17:25,960
A cream car from 1995.
883
01:17:26,120 --> 01:17:30,960
"Jeeps, Lex Coups, Bimaz & Benz" by Lost Boyz was played very loud.
884
01:17:31,040 --> 01:17:36,040
My cousin was wearing a DKNY suit that Lil 'Kim sang about.
885
01:17:36,120 --> 01:17:40,000
"DKNY, oh my, I'm jiggy." And my uncle had-
886
01:17:40,080 --> 01:17:45,520
-a Versace shirt and sunglasses on, just like Biggie Smalls.
887
01:17:45,680 --> 01:17:50,800
They came in and I thought, "I do not know what it is, but I am with."
888
01:17:52,000 --> 01:17:56,720
I wrote for an online magazine about hip-hop history-
889
01:17:56,800 --> 01:18:01,600
-and they asked me to be the editor-in-chief. I said yes.
890
01:18:01,760 --> 01:18:07,600
But maybe I should have known someone who wrote about hip hop.
891
01:18:07,680 --> 01:18:11,280
The only one I knew was Dream Hampton.
892
01:18:11,440 --> 01:18:15,440
I started google but I could not find anything online.
893
01:18:15,600 --> 01:18:21,200
Magazines such as XXL, Vibe and The Source were published in the 90s-
894
01:18:21,280 --> 01:18:26,280
-and none of it was digitized. So I started collecting them.
895
01:18:26,360 --> 01:18:30,120
I wanted to read Kevin Powell's Tupac article-
896
01:18:30,200 --> 01:18:34,480
-og Greg Tate i The Village Voice.
897
01:18:34,640 --> 01:18:37,560
So I had to buy the leaves.
898
01:18:38,880 --> 01:18:42,480
I will always do it to preserve things.
899
01:18:42,560 --> 01:18:45,760
What can we create so that the generation
900
01:18:46,120 --> 01:18:49,560
-who was born when Biggie Smalls died-
901
01:18:49,720 --> 01:18:54,560
-can understand why he was so important? Why he was king of NY.
902
01:18:56,440 --> 01:18:58,680
This is Phase 2.
903
01:18:58,760 --> 01:19:04,840
He made layout and graphic design in the last issues of IGT.
904
01:19:06,520 --> 01:19:11,840
"Books are our cultural DNA that reveal who we are and what we know."
905
01:19:11,920 --> 01:19:13,920
Susan Orlean, "The Library Book"
906
01:19:15,200 --> 01:19:20,200
Several read enough before the TV came on. There was no other entertainment.
907
01:19:20,360 --> 01:19:24,040
It had higher status. People pretended to read.
908
01:19:24,120 --> 01:19:27,600
When I was young, writers were more important.
909
01:19:27,760 --> 01:19:34,160
A book is the closest you get to a human being, so authors are gods.
910
01:19:35,360 --> 01:19:38,960
The heyday of books lasted 550 years.
911
01:19:39,120 --> 01:19:44,600
But interest in books has declined.
912
01:19:44,680 --> 01:19:48,920
In the last ten years, we have seen the beginning to the end for
913
01:19:49,000 --> 01:19:51,320
-as a central cultural object.
914
01:19:51,480 --> 01:19:58,720
This is mostly due to the mobile phones and poor concentration ability.
915
01:19:58,800 --> 01:20:03,280
But reading as an activity has diminished.
916
01:20:03,360 --> 01:20:09,560
I've talked to people in the industry and people no longer read books.
917
01:20:09,640 --> 01:20:15,040
This will dramatically mean a decline in book sales.
918
01:20:15,200 --> 01:20:21,080
One does not buy a first edition of "Moby Dick" to read Melville.
919
01:20:21,160 --> 01:20:24,640
You buy the object. And that worries me about the future.
920
01:20:24,720 --> 01:20:28,880
The books as an object will not be as appealing.
921
01:20:29,040 --> 01:20:34,840
The natural consequence then becomes ... If books are no longer printed-
922
01:20:34,920 --> 01:20:39,920
-and only exist electronically and we live in a science fiction world-
923
01:20:40,000 --> 01:20:42,880
-som i "Blade Runner"-
924
01:20:42,960 --> 01:20:47,280
-I think more people will be interested in books again-
925
01:20:47,360 --> 01:20:53,240
-because they have become cultural objects. If books ceased to exist-
926
01:20:53,320 --> 01:20:57,560
-a new bunch of people would start collecting on them.
927
01:20:58,880 --> 01:21:05,280
Today, as the book transforms from a container of knowledge-
928
01:21:05,360 --> 01:21:10,080
-for a cultural object, one considers it with new eyes.
929
01:21:10,160 --> 01:21:15,520
In the 21st century it is considered differently than in the 20th century.
930
01:21:16,520 --> 01:21:20,920
I am not convinced that the book has lost its magic.
931
01:21:21,000 --> 01:21:25,480
We still sell books. The book's death is greatly exaggerated.
932
01:21:26,560 --> 01:21:33,080
I often ride the subway and those who read books are in their 20s.
933
01:21:33,240 --> 01:21:37,080
It is the best one will see in the subway.
934
01:21:37,160 --> 01:21:40,080
And my editor said-
935
01:21:40,160 --> 01:21:45,040
-that most Kindle users are in their 40s.
936
01:21:46,120 --> 01:21:50,400
I do not know why we are to blame for the death of the booksellers.
937
01:21:50,480 --> 01:21:52,760
We read and buy books.
938
01:21:52,920 --> 01:21:59,800
There is talk that the book is dying out, which is not appropriate.
939
01:21:59,880 --> 01:22:03,920
Try reading a seven-year-old computer file. Good luck with that.
940
01:22:04,000 --> 01:22:10,840
But one can still open a 500 year old book and read it.
941
01:22:10,920 --> 01:22:15,040
The books survive. They do not burn very well.
942
01:22:15,200 --> 01:22:20,360
Not even uneducated people throw books out. There is something magical about them.
943
01:22:20,520 --> 01:22:24,920
I've never been able to throw a book out.
944
01:22:25,080 --> 01:22:31,840
I’ve seen books in trash cans, and it’s like seeing a human head.
945
01:22:33,920 --> 01:22:37,920
There is something fascinating about choosing to burn books.
946
01:22:38,080 --> 01:22:44,320
It works well and has been used since the beginning of the written word-
947
01:22:45,520 --> 01:22:51,200
-as a way to make people feel fear and dread.
948
01:22:51,280 --> 01:22:54,400
But it is also very symbolic.
949
01:22:54,480 --> 01:23:00,640
One can obliterate the cultural memory of an entire people.
950
01:23:01,720 --> 01:23:07,000
The Nazis were clearly the most ardent book burners.
951
01:23:07,160 --> 01:23:12,960
Mao Zedong, a former librarian, was a book burner.
952
01:23:13,120 --> 01:23:18,800
It hits us so hard because we project on the books-
953
01:23:18,880 --> 01:23:22,520
-a kind of subconscious hope about-
954
01:23:22,680 --> 01:23:27,000
-that they will carry on our narrative.
955
01:23:27,160 --> 01:23:31,400
Our knowledge, our dreams and our visions.
956
01:23:31,560 --> 01:23:35,280
The products of our thoughts.
957
01:23:39,480 --> 01:23:43,080
Books survive for various reasons.
958
01:23:43,240 --> 01:23:48,320
Some were buried in deserts or bogs and were protected that way.
959
01:23:48,400 --> 01:23:51,360
They were not exposed to pollution.
960
01:23:51,440 --> 01:23:56,080
They were protected from pests.
961
01:23:56,160 --> 01:24:00,200
They have an incredibly long life. They are survivors.
962
01:24:02,440 --> 01:24:06,960
The biggest problem is that bookstores are getting old.
963
01:24:07,040 --> 01:24:12,560
Almost everyone in the stalls at the fairs has white hair.
964
01:24:14,080 --> 01:24:17,200
It deeply regrets the situation
965
01:24:17,280 --> 01:24:21,920
-and I think these are the last generations of booksellers.
966
01:24:22,080 --> 01:24:25,960
It will be a narrow niche for a few.
967
01:24:27,480 --> 01:24:32,680
When I talk to older booksellers, they are always pessimistic.
968
01:24:32,760 --> 01:24:38,640
-while I'm optimistic. “What do you want to do?” They say.
969
01:24:38,720 --> 01:24:40,480
"I'm full of ideas!"
970
01:24:42,360 --> 01:24:46,480
American antique shops often last only a generation.
971
01:24:46,560 --> 01:24:52,880
Some survive the second generation. In England we are more conservative.
972
01:24:53,040 --> 01:24:56,200
My company has been around since the 1850s.
973
01:24:56,280 --> 01:24:58,840
Bernerd Quaritch in London as well.
974
01:24:59,000 --> 01:25:05,000
Most in the industry did not look ahead. What happened happened.
975
01:25:06,720 --> 01:25:12,880
We continue as usual and are not worried about the future.
976
01:25:13,040 --> 01:25:15,640
But we have a new generation here-
977
01:25:15,720 --> 01:25:22,080
-and Ben does what is necessary. Whether he continues or not.
978
01:25:24,640 --> 01:25:29,840
One reason I started in the industry was his enthusiasm.
979
01:25:29,920 --> 01:25:36,720
If he were financially independent, he would have been a great collector.
980
01:25:36,800 --> 01:25:41,200
He is not exactly made to be happy.
981
01:25:41,280 --> 01:25:48,680
He's pretty crappy. But he loves his old books.
982
01:25:49,960 --> 01:25:55,640
It makes him happy, and when a new collection comes in, it's Christmas Eve.
983
01:25:55,720 --> 01:26:00,320
So he's probably happy that the company can continue.
984
01:26:01,680 --> 01:26:08,080
My father says, "My daughter works here. My books are not for sale."
985
01:26:08,240 --> 01:26:14,120
It's everyone's nightmare. You have a lot of books, and then you die.
986
01:26:14,200 --> 01:26:16,520
So what happens to them?
987
01:26:18,360 --> 01:26:23,560
My children will not take over the company, so the books will probably be sold-
988
01:26:23,640 --> 01:26:26,480
-or my colleagues also buy them.
989
01:26:26,640 --> 01:26:30,640
Hopefully my little nuggets of gold end up in a good place.
990
01:26:31,520 --> 01:26:37,080
Imagine if the books could tell what they have heard.
991
01:26:38,560 --> 01:26:45,000
They are welcome to sell my books. When I'm dead, it does not matter.
992
01:26:46,520 --> 01:26:52,440
A handful of my belongings belong to different institutions.
993
01:26:52,520 --> 01:26:57,880
But most of the things should be privately owned, so they should be sold-
994
01:26:57,960 --> 01:27:01,680
-so others can take care of them like I did.
995
01:27:01,760 --> 01:27:06,000
The intention is that the University of Pennsylvania gets everything.
996
01:27:06,160 --> 01:27:09,800
They already have the fiction. I want to keep the collection together.
997
01:27:09,960 --> 01:27:14,240
There is no point in spreading it for all to win.
998
01:27:14,320 --> 01:27:18,320
That would be counterintuitive and stupid.
999
01:27:19,720 --> 01:27:24,120
I'm not particularly interested in money.
1000
01:27:24,280 --> 01:27:29,720
I can sell a book at a loss if it goes to someone who ...
1001
01:27:29,880 --> 01:27:35,480
I will not say "deserves it", but someone who really wants it.
1002
01:27:36,440 --> 01:27:42,280
Giving the book the right home can be compared to the doctor's work
1003
01:27:42,360 --> 01:27:47,160
-to cure his patient. It is his duty.
1004
01:27:48,480 --> 01:27:53,040
I do not regret anything I have owned or sold.
1005
01:27:53,200 --> 01:27:56,800
I only regret the books I did not buy.
1006
01:28:01,800 --> 01:28:06,160
The third fair in five weeks. I've been home for ten days-
1007
01:28:06,320 --> 01:28:09,560
-and on Wednesday it's time again.
1008
01:28:16,880 --> 01:28:20,400
The problem is parking the van.
1009
01:28:20,560 --> 01:28:26,240
It's all this, and so this. We can start with the wooden boxes.
1010
01:28:54,760 --> 01:28:59,160
That blizzard destroyed everything!
1011
01:29:04,160 --> 01:29:08,960
This is my 45th trade fair. The first time, they were still at the Plaza Hotel.
1012
01:29:09,120 --> 01:29:13,160
We were maybe 85 exhibitors at the time.
1013
01:29:13,240 --> 01:29:17,680
It was a little more like the Wild West back then.
1014
01:29:21,200 --> 01:29:27,160
-I've been going for 40 years. -And he's not even 40.
1015
01:29:27,320 --> 01:29:31,120
We'll have to toast in champagne later. I hope you come.
1016
01:29:31,200 --> 01:29:35,600
But set the cameras and use both hands. Do not waste.
1017
01:29:37,400 --> 01:29:40,680
Wishy, my catering mentor, always said-
1018
01:29:40,840 --> 01:29:45,680
-that the opening of the champagne bottle should sound like a woman's sigh.
1019
01:29:48,360 --> 01:29:51,480
"The library survives. It's the universe."
1020
01:29:51,560 --> 01:29:54,320
Jorge Luis Borges, "Biblioteket i Babel"
1021
01:29:56,440 --> 01:30:01,360
Some of us think about it all the time and I know what some of you think
1022
01:30:01,440 --> 01:30:05,360
-but if you could start over ... We are bookstores.
1023
01:30:05,440 --> 01:30:10,440
We deal with culture and we are passionate about it.
1024
01:30:10,600 --> 01:30:16,040
It can be frustrating. Are you grateful to have ended up here?
1025
01:30:16,200 --> 01:30:19,560
-What else should you do? -I love it.
1026
01:30:19,640 --> 01:30:23,360
In 1999, I was released from AB Bookman's Weekly.
1027
01:30:23,440 --> 01:30:28,440
It was like going from writing about sports to even playing baseball.
1028
01:30:28,520 --> 01:30:31,240
I would do it again.
1029
01:30:31,400 --> 01:30:34,720
I would not have become a bookseller.
1030
01:30:34,800 --> 01:30:38,280
What Adam likes is the hunt.
1031
01:30:38,360 --> 01:30:42,400
I love finding them, but the business side ...
1032
01:30:42,560 --> 01:30:46,800
Supply is limited and demand is limited.
1033
01:30:46,960 --> 01:30:52,560
You almost have to be a psychologist to be able to sell the books.
1034
01:30:52,720 --> 01:30:57,600
- It's not like selling ... - You're like a gold digger.
1035
01:30:57,680 --> 01:31:01,760
You have to find the gold nuggets. It's so hard.
1036
01:31:01,920 --> 01:31:06,280
And besides, it wears on the body.
1037
01:31:06,360 --> 01:31:12,120
Physically. If you look at the bookstores at the book fair ...
1038
01:31:12,200 --> 01:31:16,160
They are not ... The parts are like misplaced.
1039
01:31:16,240 --> 01:31:21,560
A bookstore gets on average 18 cm shorter when they are 40 years old.
1040
01:31:21,640 --> 01:31:27,200
-I never had those inches. -You were 1.87 when you were 20, Dave.
1041
01:31:41,640 --> 01:31:47,480
In the silence between author and reader, memories are created.
1042
01:31:47,560 --> 01:31:51,200
Through others, we learn about substance and value.
1043
01:31:51,280 --> 01:31:56,640
Fabric, meat, ink, skin, paper, dust
1044
01:31:56,720 --> 01:32:00,640
-are just materials in which ideas live.
1045
01:32:00,720 --> 01:32:04,960
On a crowded shelf between desert sun and Arctic night
1046
01:32:05,040 --> 01:32:10,120
-wakes up distant mind, mixes and then calms down.
1047
01:32:10,200 --> 01:32:14,120
The minds meet where the reading hand grasps the void-
1048
01:32:14,200 --> 01:32:17,520
-and soft strokes along empty margins.
1049
01:32:17,600 --> 01:32:21,480
Lost, forgotten, thumb cracked.
1050
01:32:21,560 --> 01:32:26,000
Scarred by patient decades and centuries of dreams.
1051
01:32:26,080 --> 01:32:29,280
I do not know who to hold me now-
1052
01:32:29,360 --> 01:32:33,160
-but the book also reads its readers.
1053
01:34:35,680 --> 01:34:40,000
To my Aunt Vail.
1054
01:34:40,120 --> 01:34:44,120
Danish texts: BTI Studios
1055
01:34:44,640 --> 01:34:48,680
I do not lend books. People never return them.
1056
01:34:48,840 --> 01:34:52,000
I lent a book to David Bowie.
1057
01:34:52,080 --> 01:34:57,040
"Buy it instead," I said. And he never returned it.
1058
01:33:57,000 --> 01:34:57,000
PeG@SuS
Urang Sunda Asli
95681
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